Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Desert Wheatear (Oenanthe deserti), male
Desert Wheatear, Male

Desert Wheatear

Oenanthe deserti

The desert wheatear, Oenanthe deserti, is a small, migratory passerine bird, once thought to belong to the thrush family but now classified among the Old World flycatchers. It measures approximately 14.5 to 15 cm in length, with a weight range of 15 to 34 grams. The male's summer plumage is characterized by buff upper parts and white underparts with a buff tinge on the breast, and a distinctive black face and throat extending to the shoulders, complemented by a white supercilium. The female is greyer above, buffer below, and lacks the male's black throat. Both sexes possess a black tail up to the upper tail-coverts.

Identification Tips

In the field, look for the desert wheatear's black tail, which is a key distinguishing feature observable in both sexes and all ages. The male's black face and throat contrast sharply with the white supercilium and underparts. Females are more subdued in coloration, lacking the black throat. In winter, the male's black throat is less pronounced due to white feather tips.

Habitat

The desert wheatear inhabits barren open landscapes, including steppes, deserts, semi-arid plains, and rocky wastelands. It can be found at elevations up to 3,500 meters, and during winter, it may frequent cultivated lands with interspersed bare areas.

Distribution

This species has a broad breeding range across Asia, from the Middle East and Saudi Arabia through to northwestern Mongolia. The western race breeds in North Africa, while the eastern race winters in northeastern Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Iraq, and Pakistan. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe.

Behaviour

The desert wheatear is known for perching on elevated spots before swooping down to capture insects and other invertebrates from the ground. It can also catch insects mid-air and is capable of hovering briefly. Its diet is primarily composed of ants, beetles, caterpillars, flies, and their larvae, with seeds also found in its stomach contents.

Breeding

Breeding occurs in late April or May, with the bird nesting on rocky hillsides, steppes, or sandy plains. The nest is a well-constructed cup of grasses, mosses, and stems, lined with fine roots and hairs. The female lays a clutch of usually four pale blue, speckled eggs, which both parents help to incubate and raise.

Conservation Status

The desert wheatear is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, with a stable population and an extensive breeding range estimated at nearly 10 million square kilometers.

Desert Wheatear Sounds



Recorded by: © 
App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Desert Wheatears on Birda

Photos
Sightings

More Chats, Old World Flycatchers

Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Marlster24
Very Wholesome App
Joined this app with a new interest in watching birds to help me find out what I was spotting. The community is very active in helping identify birds which is great and everyone is very kind so it’s just a nice wholesome community. I would definitely recommend this for any bird spotter 😄
Ellesse_W
Learning Birding with Birda
I’m relatively new to birding as a hobby, and Birda is a great way to keep track off all the species I see. I’m still working on my ID skills, but the app is great for figuring out potential species, and the online community is so friendly and helpful. Definitely recommend Birda to both early and serious birders! 🐦
Talli A
My favourite app
As a young birdwatcher who was always keen to be apart of a community but never seemed to find one, my problem was solved downloading this!!! Everyone is so friendly and just as excited to see birds as me 😁
Stewart W
Fantastic to be involved
Fantastic to be involved, great for mental health and gets you responding with the Challenges that are to takd part in.
Alice J
Awesome Birding Community
I absolutely love the community aspect of this app. The app is so user friendly and has fun interactive challenges to get you out birding. I’ve tried others but since I’ve started using Birda I’ve not gone back!
EandB17
Terrific App for Birders
Downloaded Birda around the time my interest in birding was sparked, and it has been a terrific app to help me (1) share my experience, (2) document my sightings, and (3) learn more about birds in general. That said, I also believe Birda is a fantastic app for birders of all experience levels. Great community!
Anonymous
The best bird logging app
Birda is honestly the best bird logging app I have seen. I love all the features it has from being able to do a session and log all the birds you see in one sitting, to being able to connect with other birders from all over the globe!
Patricia L
Very encouraging birding app
Easy to use, fun to see progress and encouraging to receive feedback from other users.
Leonie
We've been waiting for an App like this
Excellent! We've been waiting for an app like this! Thank you! It would be nice if you could assign additional birds to sessions later!
Emcil24
A Friendly Place
I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.